PREVIOUSLY: 

• Gunshot Victim Dies After Being Dropped Off by Unknown Party at Cal Fire Station Near Orick
• Orick Homicide Victim Identified
• Orick Homicide Suspect Turns Self In

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Press release from the District Attorney’s Office:

On November 9, 2023, a Humboldt County jury found Shawn Patrick McMahon, age 51, guilty of first degree murder for killing Benjamin Thomas, age 41. The jury also found that Mr. McMahon personally and intentionally discharged a firearm, causing Mr. Thomas’s death.

The murder occurred in June of 2021, on Bald Hills Road in a remote part of Humboldt County.

Deputy District Attorney Roger Rees prosecuted the case at trial, with assistance from District Attorney Investigator Martin Morris and Victim Advocates Caitlyn LaHaie and Morgan Polasek. The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case, led by Investigator Destry Henderson. Mr. McMahon was represented by local attorney RJ Leohner. The Honorable Timothy Canning, Judge, presided over the three-week jury trial.

Mr. McMahon is scheduled for sentencing on December 6, 2023. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

District Attorney Stacey Eads commends the community members that are willing to come forward and serve as jurors, and the willingness of witnesses to come forward to notify law enforcement and ultimately testify in court.